More than two dozen cruise ship passengers began experiencing flu-like symptoms and nausea while on the United Airlines flight.
Dozens of passengers on United Airlines Flight 1528 from Vancouver to Houston began vomiting on Friday. The Boeing 737 was carrying 163 people, 75 of whom had just returned from a cruise. Between 25 and 30 of the previous cruise passengers had flu-like symptoms.
Emergency personnel were on the ground to assess the passengers and the situation when the plane landed at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:20 p.m. Upon arrival, the plane was immediately taken out of service for deep cleaning and three flights were canceled.
| USA Today shared Follow-up report The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, “Public health officials at the CDC Port of Houston Health Station, in collaboration with EMS, evaluated the ill passengers on board. Most ill passengers reported mild gastrointestinal symptoms… No passengers met CDC criteria for further public health follow-up. Passengers on the flight continued with their travel plans.” |
At the same time, the airline pointed out that several affected passengers were from the same cruise ship.
Following the incident, United Airlines sent the plane for cleaning and disinfection. “United is actively coordinating with health authorities to respond to this situation,” United Airlines said in a statement. “As a precautionary measure, the aircraft will be removed from service and deep cleaned before returning to service. The health and safety of our customers and crew remains our top priority.”
The airline’s precautionary measures resulted in the cancellation of three flights. However, we cannot confirm whether the illness is norovirus or which cruise ship the sick passenger came from.
Many people believe that Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas may be the departure point for the flight. This is because it was the only ship docked in Vancouver on the day of the flight.
The same ship has a Norovirus outbreak confirmed From April 8 to 22. On May 23, the hygiene measures became stricter after some guests on the 2001-built ship became sick.
